Elysian Fields
by Praedyth
Summary: Perhaps it was fate, or luck, but a friendly face in uncharted territory reminds someone of what they're fighting for. A little bit of home in the unknown to make six-hundred years seem like it was only a nap on a warm summer's day. And even if Vetra never loved her the way that Salrixa loved her friend, at least they could be there for one another through the tough times. SPOILERS
1. PROLOGUE

**PROLOGUE**

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Originally posted on Archive of Our Own but posted here too! Spoiler warnings just so you are aware. (:

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One moment it was sleep, the next it was waking up and feeling lost.

In the heart of the moment it begins with a breath. Suddenly her lungs were working and her chest pumped with a heavy rush of blood, rapid confusion reminding the turian that she was alive after years of stasis. The doctors spoke to her but she didn't register their words. This was her first memory in Andromeda and this moment reminded her of watching rocks fall into darkness; there was an instance that made her limbs tingle, as if she were flying, but heavy like sinking as she realized where she actually was. Eyes scanning and heart rushing. This was real, she made it.

They didn't know her from the others. To them she was just another confused and thankful-to-be-here citizen that the medics took care of. Wobbly, woozy, they grabbed her hand with careful comfort and helped her from the long sleep that brought them across the ever-dark of space. A fake name, fake job, fake life, they saw something ordinary and sent her on her way as soon as they were done evaluating the latest of the sleeping colonists that survived the Scourge. They wouldn't know of her biotics and that's the way it would be. Going across galaxies was no easy feat and the turian would finally be able to fit in, possibly.

They made it to the Nexus she was told, they finally made it and those who survived would be able to call it home. When she first laid her eyes upon it she felt like she could erase the past forever. Many would stare at her and none knew her just the way she liked it. To them she would be just another face dragged in with the tide, hopeful and thankful to be with others who had come. Quietly she found her safe place in among the gardens, the plant life calming her once more. The past few days that she had been here it was this spot that she had liked the most. The gardens were her sanctity.

Even now after waking and settling in it didn't fully sink into her mind that it was all due to six-hundred years of sleeping. Dreamless, empty, hollow sleep and the years passed by as they all slumbered in hopes of a better life. How many others were running away? How many were here to forget about the past and start anew? Hands upon the cold steel railing made the turian feel grounded and even a little comforted by the sturdiness. Though the turian woman's sleep was empty there was a feeling of hope nestled in her chest. Hope from the dream that brought her to Andromeda in the first place and it was all finally feeling real, even if they had to leave home behind.

Lowering her pale eyes to the ground there were sounds of life in the distance, there was a silver-lining to the fact they had left the Milky Way.

She would remember Palaven as something akin to fire- you play with it once and after you are burned the first time there was no more playing with it. Those of Palaven could not see past her biotics and in the end she could not see past their mistrust. It would hurt to say goodbye to the Milky Way, there was more than just hate and scorn to something she found so beautiful, but in the end it was the idea of beginning anew that sold her when the Andromeda Initiative came to fruition. At first there was hesitation and perhaps even a slight form of intimidation but in the end she vowed to see herself through it. There wasn't much in the Milky Way left for her anyway, not since her family turned away from her.

So when the Natanus was built and finished it was then the turian found her calling. Hope is what nestled in her heart now, not disappointment or sadness or even grief for being something she didn't have a say in. Most biotics in turian culture were meant only to be weapons. They were feared and many didn't trust them, even at times in the Cabal units there was a level of acceptance that needed to be achieved. If you didn't control yourself you were ousted, abhorred, treated like a monster for something that was never asked for. Luckily enough she never knew that kind of treatment.

Inhaling and tightening her grip upon the railing there was a moment of stillness. Thinking about the past made the turian take it all in from her steel perch. The Nexus was lovely and it reminded her of a kinder time in her life, before the biotics set in. Back then she was naive and carefree, or at least as carefree as turian ethics would allow her. Having a father in C-Sec was a strict life but back then they paid attention to her. She was the baby in their family, the littlest and smallest of her kin, and they loved her. Bitterly she smiled at the thought; back when they saw her as family.

The sound of life echoed far off in the distance and the turian listened softly.

Somewhere in this galaxy there was a new start for her. Somewhere far beyond the stars that she knew and missed now, through the far beyond and the dark between light. Fingers gripping the steel railing there was a heaviness in her heart that slowly began to fade. Andromeda was a new start for her, a new home for a new life. Lifting the light steel eyes towards the blue clouds that feeling of hope made it all worth it. From here on out she vowed to start again and to find a place to fit in, even if it was in the background. There was a lot of mistrust and loneliness in her life but that was in the Milky Way, not Andromeda. Here she would find her place, somewhere out there.

Releasing her grip from the steel and feeling a little more at ease there was a sudden noise behind her. It was the sound of soft breathing, it reminded the turian female of wind through leaves or the moving of clouds through the sky, and as she turned her eyes fell upon a familiar face. It was shocking and her heartbeat picked up as her eyes traced the features of her guest. "Salrixa?" the voice spoke softly, it made the air tighten in her lungs. "Is that you?"

And though the feeling of a friendly face was comforting it set off many alarms; whatever fake name she had pretty much didn't matter now.


	2. I

**I. STARLIGHT**

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There was a stillness to the moment that made the air in Sal's lungs disappear.

The pale of the turian female's eyes stared into her companion's, thoughts swirling in her mind like leaves caught in a rainstorm. With her heart acting like thunder against the walls of her chest Salrixa became stiffer as the other woman grew closer with a curious but happy nature. There were moments in time in which the biotic found herself struggling with being put in the spotlight- this moment being the pinnacle of it all -and it made her uncomfortable to be called out so suddenly. The tightness in her lungs made a breathe-caught lump in her throat at her next thoughts, especially as the other woman whose red face paint in it's all too familiar glory drew closer with a certain quickness.

If this lovely creature saw her so easily then who else would recognize her here? And what would they do if they did find her? With those thoughts came thoughts of dark walls and loneliness. Then memories of fleeting moments of freedom made her heart sink. Hope for quaintness and the ordinary quietly fading into the background felt like it was sucked into the cold, dark vacuum of space. The very idea of a quiet life slipped through her fingers completely, it made the turian hesitant. Perhaps she was overthinking everything or maybe she was getting overworked by something minimal. It must have been just dumb luck that Sidera happened to see her like this but thoughts of destiny lurked in the darkness.

"Sidera," Sal replied softly, confused really as she turned fully to face her friend the moment Sid got as close as she could. "you made it to Andromeda?"

Sidera gave a soft laugh and a sway of her hip as the brunt of her weight was pushed to one side, arms crossed against her chest. There was something cheeky about the younger girl as the sounds of life lingered in the background of their reunion, the sounds of happiness making for a most amusing nature in the turian before her. The last she had seen the other woman she was shorter, shyer. The girl from then was a woman now and the thought made Sal almost blue. Had it really been so long?

"Of course I did! Vetra made sure of that." Sid replied and a laugh was echoing in the background as they stared at one another. "Sis always makes sure we make it."

But what little air was hers fell into the pit of her stomach with one word; memories of things long far gone followed.

Fingers caught between each other's, feelings of security beneath soft sheets. Smiles caught and air retreating from lungs as blood pumped through their bodies. It was one moment but it was theirs, beautiful and brief all at once. In the background of her mind laughter echoed and Sidera kept eye contact with her partner. It made the moment hard to remember and hard to forget all at once.

Salrixa lowered her eyes then as the thought of Vetra came to mind. The pounding in her chest continued to pump furiously as memories of tenderness made her heart swell. All those days, months, years, and she was sure it still wasn't enough since they had last seen one another. Of all the things that had been lost to her it was Vetra's friendship that was the hardest to let go of. The pounding in her chest slowed as thoughts of her once-friend lingered; the smile that Vetra had was what she missed the most.

"You were on the Natanus then?" Sid asked after a moment of quietness fell upon them as thoughts of sweetness faded.

"Yes," Salrixa replied promptly, years of being in her Cabal Unit not shaking itself from her even after six-hundred years of sleep. "I had heard that many were unlucky in making it safely to the Nexus."

Sidera shook her head and gave a soft huff as her eyes turned upward toward the great and vast blue of the simulated sky. Still standing stiffly and attentive of her companion the biotic couldn't help but to feel a bit insecure. Somewhere in the back of her mind she had wished to be so carefree like the other girl. The way she held herself and the way she acted so freely made Sal even more stiff. Like wild and free air Sidera was lovely and defiant; much in contrast to the confined and hesitant Sal.

"If it wasn't for Ryder, I'd have been one of the few turians left in Andromeda." Sidera said after a brief moment of reflection. It was a curious thing but Salrixa couldn't help but to feel the sorrow roll off of her companion as the words fell like rainwater. Even the moments of sadness Sid was an expert in expressing, everything from the way she said her words to the way her very body expressed itself. "Me," she said with a light laugh. "can you see me being one of the last of my kind? I'm hardly the model turian citizen as it is!"

In spite of the much apparent sadness there was humor that Sid found in it. Perhaps it was a way of coping with an almost irreversible truth? The longer Sal stared at her companion the longer she realized that it was luck that the human Pathfinder came when they did, she was certain of it. What kind of destiny would have brought them so close to danger like that? She was asleep, of course, but being so close to the heart of the end made Salrixa ball her hands at the very thought.

"It is a scary thought indeed." The biotic replied after a pause. In return Sidera turned her attention to her friend with an inquisitive look.

"What's scary?" The girl said with a sassy laugh. "Death or me being the last of our kind?"

Sheepishly Salrixa shook her head. "Death, of course. I'm sure you'd be an excellent... last turian."

The words made Sidera cock her head slightly. Sal held eye contact in spite of the embarrassment that had ensued and though they both fell quiet, the biotic found herself at the mercy of a laughing Sidera. It was a quick and light laugh, a bit of rolled shoulders and grabbing of her stomach as Sal stood uncomfortable. It was in this moment that the two became the background laughter of another conversation out there in the Nexus. It was something that made Sal feel almost ok.

"You need to lighten up, you know that? You're just like Vetra, you're both so serious." The other girl responded after a long and happy laugh finally concluded. Once more thoughts of Vetra came knocking and though knowing better than to let them in, she couldn't help but to indulge herself in curiosity.

"So, where is she?" Sal asked and suddenly it was Sid's turn to become a bit more serious. With a hand on her hip and her hip pointed out to the side, the sass rolled off of her like water rolled off of rocks. She gave the biotic a shrug of her shoulders and a mild pout.

"She's out traversing the galaxy with Ryder while I'm stuck on the Nexus. It's so unfair!"

Realization hit her hard in the stomach then- once again she was rescued by Vetra.

"Then I have to thank her." Salrixa replied softly, her thoughts getting the better of her as her eyes fell upon the white of the floor. "Otherwise I wouldn't be here."

Sidera gave her a curious look as the other turian kept her eyes upon the floor. Hydroponics was quiet, secluded, and as the two turian women found solitude there was a sudden amount of empathy that Sid finally picked up on. "Look, I know it was... hard the last time you saw one another," she said after a second of keeping her thoughts to herself. "But I think you should see her."

Raising her eyes to meet her companions an underlying amount of sweetness came from Sid. "I'll be there too, I promise."

There was that hope once more. And then once again the question of luck or fate came back to her. Was it luck that Vetra was there, or destiny? Was it sheer, stupid luck that she lived to run into Sidera here upon the Nexus, or was it all an ever weaving piece of fabric in which they were all a thread? There were always questions upon the matter but what mattered now was the fact that a friend had once again returned to her life. And even though it threatened her quaintness there was a certain fact that she wasn't alone in this matter anymore. Sidera reached outward then and grabbed her friend's hand, something that made Salrixa mildly uncomfortable but happy nonetheless. She hated the touch but endured.

"Alright, then I will thank her in person." Sal replied in the same softness which caused Sidera to tighten her grip.

"Excellent! Then I will make the call!"

With those words Salrixa found herself thinking about the laughter that echoed far off in the darkness; as uneasy as she felt, perhaps it was time to make amends.


End file.
